Convoy QP 13 was an Arctic convoy of the PQ/QP series which ran during the Second World War. It was the thirteenth of the numbered series of convoys of merchant ships westbound from the Arctic ports of Arkhangelsk and Murmansk to the United Kingdom, Iceland, and North America.
Convoy QP 13 consisted of 35 merchant ships, most of which had arrived with PQ 16. The convoy commodore was Capt. NH Gale RNR in Empire Selwyn. Most of the ships were returning empty after delivering war material to the Soviet Union, but some Soviet ships carried cargoes of export timber. Convoy QP 13 was escorted by five destroyers, Achates, Garland, Inglefield, Intrepid and Volunteer; two ASW minesweepers, Hussar and Niger; and four corvettes Honeysuckle, Hyderabad, Roselys and Starwort: These were supplemented by the anti-aircraft ship Alynbank. [1] The convoy sailed simultaneously with eastbound convoy PQ 17 so both convoys might benefit from the heavy covering force of the British aircraft carrier Victorious, battleship Duke of York, cruisers Cumberland and Nigeria, and destroyers Ashanti, Douglas, Faulknor, Marne, Martin, Onslaught and Onslow with the American battleship USS Washington and destroyers Mayrant and Rhind. The covering force was commanded by Admiral John Tovey aboard the flagship Duke of York.
Convoy QP 13 left Arkhangelsk on 26 June 1942 reinforced by a local escort of Soviet destroyers Gremyashchiy, Grozni and Kuibyshev with British destroyer Tartar and minesweepers Bramble, Hazard, Leda and Seagull. The local escort was replaced on 29 June by an anti-aircraft escort of Hunt class destroyers Blankney, Middleton and Wheatland. [1] On 30 June German air reconnaissance found convoy QP 13 180 miles (290 km) north of North Cape, Norway. U-88 was shadowing the convoy by 2 July; but Admiral Nordmeer Hubert Schmundt ordered German forces to ignore the empty westbound ships and focus on the loaded ships of eastbound convoy PQ 17. [2] The Hunt-class destroyers detached on 4 July when convoy QP 13 was out of range of German bombers. [1]
Convoy QP 13 encountered fog on 5 July 1942. In poor visibility Niger mistook an iceberg for Iceland’s North Western Cape and six merchant ships followed her into Northern Barrage minefield SN72 laid one month earlier at the entrance to the Denmark Strait. [3] All seven ships detonated naval mines, and there were only eight survivors of the 127 men aboard Niger. Only Exterminator could be salvaged. No crewmen were lost from Exterminator, Hybert and Rodina; [4] but one crewman died abandoning Hefron, five drowned when John Randolph broke in two, and Massmar sank with 17 merchant seamen, 5 Naval Armed Guards, and 26 survivors she was carrying from the sinking of Alamar in convoy PQ 16. [5]
Surviving ships destined for Reykjavík were escorted into port on 7 July by a local escort of naval trawlers Saint Elstan and Lady Madeleine. [1]
| Ship | Tonnage (GRT) | Flag | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alma Ata | 3,611 |  Soviet Union | timber cargo |
| American Press | 5,131 |  United States | |
| American Robin | 5,172 | United States | |
| Archangle | 2,480 | Soviet Union | timber cargo |
| Atlantic | 5,414 |  United Kingdom | |
| Budenni | 2,482 | Soviet Union | timber cargo |
| Capira | 5,625 |  Panama | |
| Chumleigh | 5,445 | United Kingdom | |
| City of Omaha | 6,124 | United States | |
| SS Empire Baffin | 6,978 | United Kingdom | |
| Empire Mavis | 5,704 | United Kingdom | |
| Empire Meteor | 7,457 | United Kingdom | |
| Empire Selwyn | 7,167 | United Kingdom | Convoy Commodore's ship |
| Empire Stevenson | 6,209 | United Kingdom | general cargo with lumber |
| Exterminator | 6,115 | Panama | Damaged by British Northern Barrage minefield SN72 |
| Heffron | 7,611 | United States | Sunk by British Northern Barrage minefield SN72 |
| Hegira | 7,588 | United States | |
| Hybert | 6,120 | United States | Sunk by British Northern Barrage minefield SN72 |
| John Randolph | 7,191 | United States | Liberty ship; sunk by British Northern Barrage minefield SN72 |
| Komiles | 3,962 | Soviet Union | timber cargo |
| Kuzbass | 3,109 | Soviet Union | |
| Lancaster | 7,516 | United States | |
| Massmar | 5,828 | United States | Sunk by British Northern Barrage minefield SN72 |
| Mauna Kea | 6,064 | United States | |
| Michigan | 6,419 | Panama | |
| Mormacrey | 5,946 | United States | |
| Mount Evans | 5,598 | Panama | |
| Nemaha | 6,501 | United States | |
| Petrovski | 3,771 | Soviet Union | timber cargo |
| Pieter de Hoogh | 7,168 |  Netherlands | |
| Richard Henry Lee | 7,191 | United States | Liberty ship |
| Rodina | 4,441 | Soviet Union | Sunk by British Northern Barrage minefield SN72 |
| St. Clears | 4,312 | United Kingdom | |
| Stary Bolshevik | 3,974 | Soviet Union | |
| Yaka | 5,432 | United States | |
Convoy PQ 17 was an Allied Arctic convoy during the Second World War. On 27 June 1942, the ships sailed from Hvalfjörður, Iceland, for the port of Arkhangelsk in the Soviet Union. The convoy was located by German forces on 1 July, shadowed and attacked.
HMS Orwell was an O-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that entered service in 1942 and was broken up in 1965.
HMS Onslow was an O-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. The O-class were intermediate destroyers, designed before the outbreak of the Second World War to meet likely demands for large number of destroyers. They had a main gun armament of four 4.7 in guns, and had a design speed of 36 kn. Onslow was ordered on 2 October 1939 and was built by John Brown & Company at their Clydebank, Glasgow shipyard, launching on 31 March 1941 and completing on 8 October 1941.
Convoy PQ 1 was the first of the Arctic Convoys of the Second World War to have the code prefix PQ, which was chosen from the initials of Commander Phillip Quellyn Roberts, an operations officer in the Admiralty. The Western Allies used the Arctic route to supply the Soviet Union after the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion, which began on 22 June 1941.
Convoy PQ 2 was the third of the Arctic Convoys of the Second World War by which the Western Allies supplied the Soviet Union after Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion, which began on 22 June 1941. The convoy sailed from Scapa Flow and arrived safely at Archangelsk.
Convoy PQ 18 was an Arctic convoy of forty Allied freighters from Scotland and Iceland to Arkhangelsk in the Soviet Union during the Second World War. The convoy departed Loch Ewe, Scotland on 2 September 1942, rendezvoused with more ships and escorts at Iceland and arrived at Arkhangelsk on 21 September. An exceptionally large number of escorts were provided by the Royal Navy in Operation EV, including the first escort carrier to accompany an Arctic convoy. Detailed information on German intentions was provided by the code breakers at Bletchley Park and elsewhere, through Ultra signals decrypts and eavesdropping on Luftwaffe wireless communications.
PQ 13 was a British Arctic convoy that delivered war supplies from the Western Allies to the USSR during World War II. The convoy was subject to attack by German air, U-boat and surface forces and suffered the loss of five ships, plus one escort vessel. Fifteen ships arrived safely.
HMS Niger was a Halcyon-class minesweeper of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1936 and was sunk during the Second World War. On 5 July 1942, the vessel sailed into a minefield while escorting Convoy QP 13 and struck one of the mines, later sinking with only eight survivors.
Convoy PQ 15 was an Arctic convoy sent from Iceland by the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during the Second World War. The convoy sailed in late April 1942, reaching the Soviet northern ports after air attacks that sank three ships out of twenty-five.
Convoy PQ 14 was an Arctic convoy sent from Britain by the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during the Second World War. Convoys from Britain had been despatched since August 1941 and advantage had been taken of the perpetual darkness of the Arctic winter. German operations against the convoys had been muted due to the need to support Operation Barbarossa, confidence in imminent victory and the small size of the convoys. In late 1941 and early 1942 the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine had reinforced Norway with aircraft and ships.
Convoy PQ 12 was an Arctic convoy sent from Reykjavík in Iceland by the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during the Second World War. It sailed 1 March 1942, reaching Murmansk on 12 March 1942 for no losse despite a sortie against it by the Tirpitz.
Convoy PQ 8 was an Arctic convoy of the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during the Second World War. The convoy left Iceland on 8 January 1942. On 12 January the convoy had to turn south to avoid ice; the weather was calm, visibility was exceptional, with a short period of twilight around noon. and arrived in Murmansk nine days later.
Convoy JW 51A was an Arctic convoy sent from Great Britain by the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during World War II. It sailed in December 1942, reaching the Soviet northern ports at the end of the month.
Arctic naval operations of World War II were the World War II naval operations that took place in the Arctic Ocean, and can be considered part of the Battle of the Atlantic and/or of the European Theatre of World War II.
Convoy QP 11 was an Arctic Convoy of World War II, made up of merchant ships returning from the Soviet Union to Britain after delivering their cargo to the Soviet Union. The convoy consisted of 13 merchant ships, escorted by 18 warships. The convoy was attacked by German destroyers and submarines, suffering the loss of one merchant ship as well as the light cruiser HMS Edinburgh. The Germans lost the destroyer Z7 Hermann Schoemann.
Convoy QP 10 was an Arctic convoy of World War II, consisting of empty merchant ships returning from the Soviet Union after delivering their cargo there. The convoy consisted of 16 merchant ships and an escort of nine warships. The convoy departed Murmansk on 10 April 1942 and arrived in Reykjavik on 21 April. The convoy was attacked by German U-boats and aircraft, resulting in the loss of four merchant ships. Another ship, Stone Street, was damaged by air attack and forced to turn back to the Kola Inlet. The convoy's escorts shot down six German planes and damaged another during the course of the voyage. Later, six merchant ships from Convoy PQ 14 joined QP 10.
Convoy QP 14 was an Arctic convoy of the QP series which ran during the Second World War. The convoy was a return journey of Allied ships from the port of Archangelsk in the Soviet Union to Loch Ewe in the west of Scotland. The British planned to send Convoy PQ 18 from Iceland to Murmansk and when the convoys crossed transfer much of the escort force from the outbound convoy to Convoy QP 14 and escort back it through the most dangerous waters off Norway.
Convoy QP 15 was an Arctic convoy of the PQ/QP series which ran during the Second World War. It was one of a series of convoys run to return Allied ships to home ports in the United Kingdom from the northern ports of the Soviet Union.It sailed in November 1942 and was the last convoy in the "QP" series. It was scattered by a storm which sank the Soviet destroyer Sokrushitelny and was attacked by U-boats of the German Navy which sank two of the thirty merchant ships.
Sokrushitelny was one of 29 Gnevny-class destroyers built for the Soviet Navy during the late 1930s. Completed in 1939, she was initially assigned to the Baltic Fleet before she was transferred to the Northern Fleet in late 1939. After the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, the ship laid several minefields in the White and Barents Seas. Sokrushitelny spent most of her service escorting the Arctic Convoys, run by the British to provide weapons and supplies to the Soviets, or providing naval gunfire support to Soviet troops along the Arctic coast. The ship engaged a German ship just once, while defending Convoy QP 13 in early 1942. While escorting Convoy QP 15 in November, she sank during a severe storm after breaking in half. Most of her crew was rescued by other destroyers sent to her aid, although 35 crewmen were lost.
Convoy QP 1 was the first of the Arctic Convoys of the Second World War by which the Allies brought back ships that begun carrying supplies to the Soviet Union after Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of 22 June 1941. The convoy sailed from Murmansk and arrived safely at Scapa Flow in Orkney.